Parents: Woman who stole cop car is mentally ill

San Diego  The parents of a woman accused of stealing a police car in the East Village, then leading authorities on a high-speed pursuit, said Wednesday that she suffers from a mental illness and should be treated, not imprisoned.

Felicitas Flores, 22, pleaded not guilty to charges including felony assault with a deadly weapon on a peace officer, theft of an emergency vehicle, felony evading and being a felon in possession of a firearm.

She had been released from custody and was under supervision by the Probation Department when the offense occurred, a prosecutor said.

Flores was arrested Friday at a rest area off Interstate 5 near Oceanside after the stolen car rammed a San Diego police vehicle. She is also accused of sideswiping a California Highway Patrol vehicle that had two officers inside.

Flores’ parents said after the Superior Court arraignment that Flores has suffered from paranoid schizophrenia since she was 16 years old.

“She’s not in her right mind,” said Annebell Flores, the defendant’s mother. She said she her daughter has been prescribed medication but often fails to take it regularly.